Rumor: MW2 recalled in Russia due to 'No Russian' scene [update]
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Nov 16th 2009 at 12:04PM } 
To make sure this report stays as "fair and balanced" as possible, we've contacted Activision and Infinity Ward for comment. Any Russia-based readers that can shed a little bit more light on the situation should feel free to contact us.
Update: Activision confirms
[Via Edge]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
GiggMan @ Nov 16th 2009 12:07PM
I can't wait to find me a dead horse so I can beat it....
Shaun @ Nov 16th 2009 12:54PM
I understand why they don't want this level to be released to the public in Russia. The US and many other countries would ban it outright if it was in their respectful countries. I played the level. It was shocking, but not anymore than some other video games, but if it was a US airport I would probably find it even more grotesque. Sorry Russia, but it would have happened to any other country as well. I kind of wish that they would have chosen a made-up country instead.
Nando @ Nov 16th 2009 1:11PM
Wow, no "in comunist Russia.." jokes in the first page! internet, you are growing up...
Meh @ Nov 16th 2009 1:23PM
"The US and many other countries would ban it outright if it was in their respectful countries." what
YOU'RE NOT SHOOTING ACTUAL PEOPLE.
Kabapu @ Nov 16th 2009 1:37PM
Not sure if the Russian government is best suited for saying whether or not the content is appropriate:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_theater_hostage_crisis
Temidien @ Nov 16th 2009 1:45PM
@Nando
In Soviet Russia, up grows internet!
:/
borland502 (SDF Macross) @ Nov 16th 2009 1:48PM
"I kind of wish that they would have chosen a made-up country instead..."
I always thought the custom misguided. I mean sure, if it's a fantasy game it's easy to buy that the fight does not take place in Iraq, Russia, etc. However, take games like CoD4 using real world maps. It seems more than a little disingenuous to pretend that we're in Boraq when clearly we're in Iraq. Does the thin veneer of fakery make Iraqi nationals happier about the portrayal?
Dunno, we do use fictional cities, nations, and people all the time in fiction (movies, books, etc). However, it's usually to avoid inconsistency with real places or people than a paper shield against reactions. I'm not sure I can reconcile revulsion at the scene being set in Russia with a lack of revulsion at the scene being placed in Comradia: Either way we are meant to feel something at the brutality.
TheKarmaPolice @ Nov 16th 2009 1:57PM
@Meh
I haven't played the game but isn't there a level where you're shooting crap all over the place in an AMERICAN SUBURB?
where AMERICAN houses get blown to smitherines?
Doctor John Smith @ Nov 16th 2009 3:07PM
Many other countries would most certainly *not* ban it. How many GTA games have been released now, where you are able to mow down innocents? That all take place in America?
phr3qu3ncy441 @ Nov 16th 2009 3:13PM
able to mow down innocent citizens is a lot different than being presented with a mission required to mow down innocent citizens (though in the airport scene in mw2, you never really have to kill anyone. at first i thought he'd be suspicious and question loyalty, but the ending of the scene did make some sense as to why he never really bothered about it).
then again, super columbine massacre rpg wasn't completely banned. though if it turned into a published game that can be bought, it might be seen in a different light.
sure, it's just a bunch of pixels and 3d models being battered with bullets... you can't expect everyone to think that way.
VaultBoy @ Nov 16th 2009 3:32PM
Yes, let's censor the scene that sets up the whole reason for the rest of the game. Russians being dropped inside of the united states, firefights in suburbs, and military standoffs on the roof of a Burger King (...ahem..."Burger Town"). They might as well ban it outright. Nobody could play through that level and think that Makarov is a good man by the end of it. If they are...lock them up. Then again, how are you going to speak "No Russian" if the game is translated into said language. Hmmm... irony.
Nick (PSN: rattlehead91) @ Nov 16th 2009 4:31PM
Grand Theft Auto. You mow down innocents left and right and the games are set in the U.S. - fictional cities, but the U.S. no less. People need to really calm down about this.
Maverick Saturn (Igor) @ Nov 16th 2009 5:55PM
I suppose I understand how they feel though, instead of telling them to calm down about this, why not calm down yourselves first, its thier country, so technically, if they feel it is not what they want portrayed there, then so be it, can't get upset because they decided to have a scene removed for the sake of thier own country.
Besides, they'd have a point, when it comes to war shoot-em-ups, its mainly russians, iraqis or germans that get the brunt force, based on that alone, you'd think there was a lot of hate towards those three countries. GTA mowing down American's is just 1, 1 since game as opposed to many in the opposite direction. GTA wasn't exactly made by russians now was it.
Saying that, what 'borland502 (SDF Macross)' says is right, better then fantasy world. Still doesnt change the fact that what is okay to you, is not okay to them, we can respect that, can't we?
Dummy00001 @ Nov 17th 2009 11:40AM
@Kabapu: "Not sure if the Russian government is best suited for saying whether or not the content is appropriate:"
Russians would be pissed anyway. There is a saying which goes like that (in my rough translation): Americans love their country and ready to kill anybody who disagrees with that, Russians hate their country and ready to kill anybody who agrees with that.
In other news: the scene alone might make the game a smashing hit in the rest of ex-USSR countries.
sleepypersons @ Nov 16th 2009 12:11PM
Looks like No Russian has a new meaning.
midnightprince7 @ Nov 16th 2009 12:29PM
That level was the best fuck u Russia
Blank-Mage (ATDFs Nuker) @ Nov 16th 2009 12:45PM
ZOMBIE TROLL, LEAVE THIS PLACE!
alex @ Nov 16th 2009 6:57PM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8351000/8351931.stm
hey people this is british media, this is where the media actually gives us gamers a chance :) and get people in that actually know wat they are talking about :)
WREturns [Planeteer I Power of The Final Countdown] Personal Shopper of the ATDF @ Nov 16th 2009 12:11PM
Love me some Fascism! Telling people what to think is so much easier than letting them think thoughts on their own.
JR @ Nov 16th 2009 12:21PM
Yep. Like banning photographs of our war dead. Or censoring what we can see on TV with regards to sex and violence. Silly fascists.
Lone Starr @ Nov 16th 2009 12:23PM
Why is there always this need to bring up "edgy" tangents not related to the post?
L.M.L.Y.P @ Nov 16th 2009 3:50PM
he's simply pointing out the iron knee in the comments.
WREturns [Planeteer I Power of The Final Countdown] Personal Shopper of the ATDF @ Nov 16th 2009 12:46PM
It's not a tangent, I think that "No Russian" is saying some important things and that it's a mistake to censor it. Quite frankly, I agree with you, JR. I don't really believe in censorship, but unlike most people I do believe in personal responsibility. If more people thought similarly we wouldn't need this censorship bullshit.
Blank-Mage (ATDFs Nuker) @ Nov 16th 2009 12:48PM
It's a sub-sect of Godwins Law.
The Good Soldier Svejk @ Nov 16th 2009 1:12PM
"saying important things."
LOLWHAT.
I'm with you on censorship, but please don't try to pretend that COD has anything 'important' to 'say' about 'things'.
WREturns [Planeteer I Power of The Final Countdown] Personal Shopper of the ATDF @ Nov 16th 2009 1:26PM
People said the same things about film, Svejk.
bumblo @ Nov 16th 2009 2:43PM
Let's not bullshit each other, the REAL reason that level was put in there was to stir up some controversy and give the game some more media exposure. I mean beyond the realm of gaming. It worked, Fox News got their hands on it and started bashing the game for being a "terrorist simulator". That's typical of them too, to bash on something without really understanding what the hell it's actually about.
But hey, more popularity=more sales so WIN for Activision/IW.
Shagittarius @ Nov 16th 2009 12:12PM
Man I couldn't kill enough of those civilians during that level...
Temidien @ Nov 16th 2009 12:19PM
Ass.
destrin @ Nov 16th 2009 12:24PM
Agreed, my particular favourite was chasing after the ones crawling away leaving trails of blood and stabbing them with a knife
Zing @ Nov 16th 2009 12:28PM
This game has an 18 certificate, how did 12 y/o's get a hold of it?
I blame the parents.
Dreaded Fear @ Nov 16th 2009 12:29PM
I couldn't shoot them as well. IW did a good job in making you feel very uncomfortable in that situation. It was unsettling seeing somebody drag their injured friend to safety, only to be shot while doing so.
Victor @ Nov 16th 2009 12:31PM
I haven't played MW2, I'll probably get it in the next few days, but are the scenes where you kill civilians so horrifying as some reviewers are making them sound?
I can't imagine it being much more traumatizing than killing people in GTA...
midnightprince7 @ Nov 16th 2009 12:39PM
i loved that level it ownz, russia = fail
Prof. Von Manifest (aka the caterpillar in your buttermilk) [PSN: Manifest37] @ Nov 16th 2009 12:43PM
Yeah, the concept isn't new. I use to go on GTA rampages all the time.
I just wish I could run. Great level though.
I feel sorry for Russia.
Aero @ Nov 16th 2009 12:48PM
I just spent the level jumping around and messing about. Just like the 'cutscene' parts in HL2.
Blank-Mage (ATDFs Nuker) @ Nov 16th 2009 12:53PM
Killing people in GTA is quite different, they never crawl pathetically along and cry.
Yeah, it made me uncomfortable playing that level. While I respect that it's their game and I won't tell them what should or shouldn't be in there, I still think that was kind of unnecessary.
TheSniperZERO @ Nov 16th 2009 12:57PM
As much as I'm all for mindless violence, the No Russian level was pretty gratuitous and, as everyone who actually played it knows, was in the end pointless.
The Dark Wayne [Planeteer: Power of the Batusi] ATDFs Financier and Batman @ Nov 16th 2009 1:05PM
I was severely disappointed when i got to the balcony the other guy hadnt left any people for me : (
But yeah, it seemed pretty ridiculous. As they mentioned on the podcast, it hardly seems appropriate to try to have a deep, emotional, topical scene like that, and then make weed and F.A.G.S. jokes at the same time. It wouldn't have been so bad if the scene itself wasnt entirely unnecessary as well as contradictory. Remember the part where the actual fighting begins? Against the riot shield guys on the runway? There's a part where one russian dies and makarov says "leave him", even though the whole point was to blame the Americans, if the police were able to identify this CIA deep cover American, shouldnt they be able to notice the dead ACTUAL russian guy with body armor and an M240?
Freedom Town @ Nov 16th 2009 1:06PM
@Victor -
Yes, the scene is a lot more gruesome than anything in GTA. GTA is a joke with its sequences, the scene from MW2 is very real, and emotional.
I don't believe the game should be banned or the scene be removed, I believe in parenting, not censorship.
But when I played this for the first time, I was a little taken back...just the "whoa" feeling. Definitely not something I've seen in a video game before...at least in the detail and the emotional response....
I do believe this scene was put in just for controversies sake though. MW2's story was so disjointed and unbelievable at points, this massacre scene didn't really need to exist, other then to give that "whoa..." feeling.
Back to your question though. Yes, it is a much bigger deal, at least to me, then anything you do/see in a GTA game...due to the lack of any emotional response to GTA.
Do you see 10x more gruesome footage in TV and Movies though? Yes. And there arises the hypocritical nature of all these people who want to censor video games....
Those Russians....such a sensitive society.....
Prof. Von Manifest (aka the caterpillar in your buttermilk) [PSN: Manifest37] @ Nov 16th 2009 1:15PM
Com'on, in GTA & MW2 you're shooting defenseless civilians without mercy.
When you get a game where victims are pleading for their lives & telling you that they have a family & kids, then you have a reason to say it's disgusting... if you're not into that sort of thing.
Victor @ Nov 16th 2009 1:25PM
Well, since I just remembered I'm a moron and I can watch people playing through the level on YouTube, I just did that.
Eh... not really worth so much fuss IMO. After the kind of shit I've seen in movies it didn't affect me that much. Maybe because I was just watching, not playing, but I think this is only being treated as a big deal because MW2 and gaming as a whole are in the media spotlight. I think if a game had a scene like that 5 years ago, nobody would give a shit.
Dreaded Fear @ Nov 16th 2009 2:12PM
Can someone tell me why people are upset over a freaking call sign that has to do with marijuana? If it was alcohol or tobacco would you be perfectly fine with it? (Drunken Bastard call sign for when you drop to your death for example) It seems people are really stretching things to make a point.
The fact that it is in multiplayer, which is completely different and separate from single-player means it shouldn't affect it at all. Does the fact you are killing other spartans in in Halo multiplayer take away from the "seriousness" of the single player?
Colin McGinn @ Nov 16th 2009 2:27PM
@TheSniperZERO
I did not enjoy the level at all, and I managed to make it through without firing one bullet. But the scene was not pointless nor was the end of the level. It provides motive and drives the entire plot of the game. How are some of you missing this?
Duke @ Nov 16th 2009 3:08PM
I actually felt bad playing that level and didn't shoot the civilians either. It was pretty shocking watching them mow down people crawling and all. When I got to the balcony part and the guy was going nuts on those below, that was my WTF moment of the game - making me feel shocked like when the nuke went off in the first one and you had to walk around in it. It was that same feeling of death and despair, where you were forced to be in the middle of an unforeseen situation while shocked and knowing you were screwed.
That being said, I don't think it should have been pulled form the game. It make you think, made you decide if you could do it and at least think about it in a real sense for a moment. Then, in the end, it served as a strong basis for the rest of the game to occur.
Shagittarius @ Nov 16th 2009 3:48PM
I was just hoping there was an achievement for killing the most civilians. You guys talking about what an emotional scene this is and what an effect it has on the player, no way, GTA is much more brutal on the player than this.
In GTA your not forced to kill innocents, its just your own choice to go on a rampage. Are you telling me that deciding to go on a killing spree on your own in GTA has less of an impact than being forced to play through a massacre that was a plot point in MW2.
Theres nothing new or particularly offensive with this level, people are making a big deal out of nothing.
Duke @ Nov 16th 2009 4:10PM
You know Shag, I can see why people are so upset over this. I still haven't shaken the pain I felt from what the Cubans & Russians did to us in Red Dawn.
Wolverines!!!!!!!!
laserboyjc @ Nov 16th 2009 7:11PM
I have not played the level, but saw some video of it online and I'm very disappointed with Infinity Ward. Some people say it drives the story, etc...but in my view, if you as a developer make a whole level that I can skip with you telling me it won't affect my achievements/game outcome, then what's the point of making it in the first place? Now you just have a segmented audience, since in a way not everyone played the same game. If you're going to make something, then make it. If it is not needed, then what gives?
In this case I believe that this was just for shock value, something which Modern Warfare did NOT need to generate sales, it was a good game as is, leave the controversy to rubbish like Postal...we didn't need need it here. As for those who might say it shows you the other side, I say this doesn't teach a thing about "being" a terrorist, if you want to know more about them then watch the History Channel and other documentaries. This level was not to educate, but to entertain, and when you start to think that we find shooting innocent civilians entertaining, then something is not right. I know this is a game, but the realism generates the same level of emotional involvement that can drive the deranged to real crime. I'm not saying it will do it for everyone, call me old fashioned, but I do believe this in general makes us insensitive to real life crimes. After all, what's the importance of a shooting with 3 people dead in your neighborhood when you "popped" dozens of innocent digital likenesses of people in the name of fun?
Captain Planet [Planeteer | Power of Captain Planet] @ Nov 16th 2009 12:14PM
I don't understand why they don't just slap a sticker on the box that says, "No Russians were harmed in the making of the game."
MrAlex @ Nov 16th 2009 12:27PM
SPCR- Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Russians approved!